Stairs
by ctrprincess
Summary: Rose Weasley tends to be slightly clumsy. But her friends always seem to be there to steady her. But a fall down the stairs might just change things...
Rose Weasley had a hatred for stairs. It didn't matter that she was the smartest witch in her year. She was also the clumsiest of her year, maybe even of her generation. So she was very careful on the treacherous stairs of Hogwarts. She carefully grasped the stairs making her way to and from class. Unless she was walking with someone. It was a generally known fact that if you decided to walk with Rose Weasley, you would be expected to steady Rose. There was the condition of if she managed to trip on something. But very rarely was there a walk between places where Rose didn't stumble at some point.

Of course, her most frequent companions were her two best mates, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy. It was automatic for them to reach out and steady a falling Rose.

Except she was late, which also happened more often than she cared to admit. Especially now with the stress of her NEWTs which were fast approaching. So, Rose was hurrying down from the Gryffindor common room when she encountered her greatest foe: the grand staircase. Usually she would stick to the sides, but there were students milling about, even sitting along the edges. So Rose was forced to take the center of the stairs. She took a deep breath, and began her descent.

She kept her eyes trained on the ground, which reduced her chances of stumbling. It really did help her. For a while.

"Rose!" Rose looked toward the call of her name, even though she knew who it was. She smiled at Scorpius, but also broke her concentration. Her foot landed on only part of a step, the rest dangling in mid-air. Before she knew it, she was tumbling down the stairs.

 _I'll end up in the hospital wing for sure._ She thought as gravity sent her down the largest stairs in Hogwarts. But then she stopped suddenly, and without damage. And of course, there was Scorpius, who had raced up the stairs to catch her.

She grinned. "We've returned to this, have we?" She clearly remembered back to third year, back when she and Scorpius had fought constantly. And not teasing fighting either.

She had been at the top of this same staircase, and was being teased relentlessly by Travis Jones about her hair. But she was used to it. She was doing her best to ignore him, but then he gave her a little shove and she went tumbling down this very staircase. Again, Scorpius had caught her at the bottom. He'd hexed Travis before walking Rose to her next class. That is when they'd shifted from almost enemies to friends.

Scorpius grinned back at her, but made no effort to lift her from her position in his arms. In fact, to an observer it might have looked like they were doing some strange staircase dance and Scorpius had just decided to dip her.

"This does seem to remind me of another time I saved Rose Weasley a trip to the Hospital Wing. I seem to remember that was the day we became friends, if I'm not mistaken?" Rose nodded. "I don't have anyone to hex this time, do I? I received detention the last time. But it was worth it." He lifted her up, and helped her make the rest of the way down the staircase.

"No, it was my own fault this time. My bloody clumsiness sent me flying. It didn't help that you distracted me."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "I distracted you?" Rose's face turned the color of her name, and she stumbled. Scorpius immediately snaked an arm around her waist to keep her from falling.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"No problem. I actually love your clumsiness. It gives me the chance to catch you on a regular basis." She glanced at him in confusion, and he just winked at her. He removed his arm from around her, and took her hand instead. She smiled down at their clasped hands, but still looked at him questioningly.

"Take a walk with me outside?" he asked. She nodded, and he led her outside by the hand.

"You know, Rose," he began once they were out of doors, "last time I caught you falling down the staircase, our relationship changed. What do you say we change it again?"

Scorpius seemed set on confusing Rose today, it seemed. This was third time she sent him a questioning look, but he simply grinned. They'd come to a stop at the top of the hill.

"Rose Weasley, I don't want to be friends with you anymore."

"Oh, Scorpius Malfoy, do you want to go back to enemies then?" She knew that wasn't what he meant, so she decided to tease him about. She was completely clueless as to what else they could be instead of friends.

Scorpius let out a little laugh. "Merlin, no, Rosie." He took a deep breath. He seemed extremely nervous, which didn't happen often for Scorpius. The last time Rose had seen him this nervous was before their OWLS. "Rose Weasley, will you be my girlfriend?"

Rose stared at him for several moments, before realizing she needed to respond.

"Oh, yes!" she said as she threw her arms around his neck. He went with it, and spun her around before placing her steadily back upon the ground. Her arms didn't remove themselves from around his neck, which made his next job easier. One of his hands moved from her back to cup her face, and bring it closer to his own. She didn't resist, but closed her eyes in anticipation. Encouraged, he closed the distance between them and kissed her. She responded easily and eagerly. Oh, Merlin, she'd wanted this for so long.

Further encouraged, with his arm still around her back, Scorpius pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Rose, completely and utterly distracted, slipped on the slope of the hill. Scorpius attempted to steady her, but was distracted himself. So instead of lifting her to safety, they both went tumbling down the hill.

The grass was soft, and they both reached the bottom uninjured and laughing.

Rose bit her lip. "I'm sorry I broke the moment."

Scorpius smiled at her. "Nah, it's alright. As long as I get to snog you again later."

She grinned and nodded shyly. Scorpius reached out to remove a weed from Rose's hair. Rose felt the rest of her hair.

"Oh, Merlin. My hair's simply covered in them!" Scorpius just laughed, and moved closer to remove them. "Oh, Scorp. You don't have to do that."

"But, Rosie, I don't mind But I suppose, I could be compensated in some way."

She tilted her head. "I don't have much money," she teased.

"That's not quite the compensation I was looking for. A weed a kiss sound fair?"

Rose grinned and nodded. No, Scorpius didn't mind picking weeds out of Rose's hair at all.

 **AN: Just a quick little one-shot. I'm going through a Scorose phase right now. So I'll probably be posting some more one-shots with them soon. Possibly a longer story too. Let me know what you think! Advice and criticism are welcome! All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.**


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